Michael Parkinson dead at 88: Legendary broadcaster and talk show host who interviewed the great and the good from John Lennon to Muhammad Ali passes away at home after brief illness By Martin Robinson, Chief Reporter Published: 05:11 EDT, 17 August 2023 | Updated: 05:32 EDT, 17 August 2023 e-mail 200 View comments Sir Michael Parkinson - the 'king of the chat show' who will go down as one of the greatest broadcasters in history - has died aged 88, his bereft family revealed today. Sir Michael, who was fondly called 'Parky' by friends and fans, became one of the most famous names in Britain after his seminal interviews with Muhammad Ali, John Lennon , Billy Connolly, Orson Welles and most of the world's biggest stars. There were also wildly comical - and uncomfortable interviews - including being attacked while speaking to Rod Hull and Emu as well as a prickly Meg Ryan in 20 years of more than 2,000 BBC interviews. Parky, who presented his programme Parkinson from 1971 to 1982 and again from 1998 to 2007, was last seen in public in April. The cricket-mad Yorkshireman appeared frail as he celebrated his friend Dickie Bird's 90th birthday bash. His last TV appearance was last November. A statement from Sir Michael's family said: 'After a brief illness Sir Michael Parkinson passed away peacefully at home last night in the company of his family. The family request that they are given privacy and time to grieve.' He is survived by his wife of more than 60 years, Lady Mary Parkinson, and they lived together in Bray, Berkshire. They had three children, sons In 2013, he spoke openly about being diagnosed with prostate cancer following a routine health check. But his family said today that his death was as a result of a brief illness. Sir Michael Parkinson, pictured with his friend and famous interviewee Muhammad Ali, has died aged 88 Celebrations: The broadcaster was seen chatting with guests at his table at the party, while he was also reunited with his friend Dickie (pictured), who was celebrating his 90th birthday in Paril Classic: In 1971, he spoke to John Lennon and Yoko Ono, in one of his earliest episodes Michael Parkinson interviewing Rod Hull and Emu in 1976 where he was famously, and comically, attacked Parky was married to his wife Lady Mary since 1959. He died surrounded by his family Parky in 2007 with Peter Kay where he was dressed as a lollipop man on his final BBC show He also hosted two seasons of Parkinson: Masterclass on Sky Arts in 2012 and 2013. All in all, Parkinson racked up 2,000 interviews over the years with some of the best-known names from all walks of life, including royalty. In his 2022 book My Life in Sport: Memories, Moments and Declarations , the presenter revealed his most formidable guest was the Duke of Edinburgh, who he suspects took a dislike to the broadcaster right from the start. 'I did have to chat to him once, for a charity, and it was not a success - at all,' he confessed. The TV star, who lived in Berkshire with his wife Mary, has previously spoken about his long-running chat show. Of his heyday - which saw him sit down one-on-one, often for a whole hour, with the likes of Orson Welles, Madonna and David and Victoria Beckham - he said: 'I had the best of it, in terms of the guests I could choose from. The older ones and the newer ones, and also the kind of television that was being shown in those days. It was bliss.' Of his favourites, Parkinson counted iconic footballer George Best, with whom he developed a deep friendship before his premature death aged 59, following a liver transplant. He also counted Sir Billy Connolly among his favourite interviews, and praised the comedian as 'a natural funny man'. Icon: The 86-year-old TV star fronted Parkinson between 1971 to 2007, and two seasons of Parkinson: Masterclass on Sky Arts in 2012 and 2013, chatting to an array of major names from the world of entertainment, sport and politics [pictured in 1987] Pals: Sir Michael still counts Sir Billy Connolly as one of his favourite guests, and he praised the comedian as 'a natural funny man' [pictured together in 1987] The talkshow host has interviewed over 2000 people from all walks of life throughout his career, pictured in 2006 with Jane Fonda Sir Michael made a TV appearance on Good Morning Britain in November . He appeared on the show alongside his son Mike, 55, where he discussed the art of interviewing and reminisced on his time spent with footballer George Best. Asked about the art of the interview by hosts Susanna Reid and Richard Madeley, Sir Michael said: 'It takes some doing to actually be frank in an interview, to ask the questions properly and not be delicate around certain subjects. 'You're aware of that as the interviewer. It's a fascinating subject. There's lots of other things that come into it. He added: 'I enjoy watching interviews as well nowadays, particularly when they don't get it right.' Sir Michael was good friends with George and interviewed the footballer more than a dozen times during his career. Mike recalled playing football with the Manchester United winger as a child and his schoolteachers not believing him. He said: 'George used to come down and he would try and avoid dad because dad would try and lecture him. 'He'd run out in the garden and play football with me and the two brothers and the game was get the football off George best which was impossible. 'I went back to primary school and they asked me what I did for the weekend and I said, I played football with George Best. 'I kept repeating this claim and was given detention. I then saw George next time and said to him, George you got me in trouble and he said what can I do? 'He signed a football and wrote, to Sister Cross, he did play football with George Best, love George. I gave it to her next day at school and I'm sure she blushed. Sir Michael became a familiar face on both the BBC and ITV because of his intimate celebrity interviews, most notably on the BBC show Parkinson. Parkinson first aired on the BBC on June 19 1971, and enjoyed a successful run until 1982. In 1998, the chat show was revived on the BBC and proved an instant hit. It switched from the BBC to ITV1 in 2004 and ran until 2007 - the same year Sir Michael retired from his Sunday morning Radio 2 programme. His career saw him welcome the likes of boxer Muhammad Ali, sporting star David Beckham and Rod Hull - with puppet Emu - onto his chat shows during a long and distinguished career. During the hundreds of episodes of his talk show, he also interviewed stars including David Bowie, John Lennon and Celine Dion. Headline making interviews throughout his career included those with actresses Dame Helen Mirren and US star Meg Ryan. He famously introduced stage and screen star Dame Helen as the "sex queen" of the Royal Shakespeare Company during their 1975 chat show encounter, and asked if her "equipment" hindered her being recognised as a serious actress. In 2003, his interview with Ryan made headlines following a frosty one-on-one with the Hollywood actress while she was promoting the poorly received erotic thriller In The Cut. Ryan sat stony-faced for the sit-down, delivering one-word answers after allegedly being rude to her fellow guests on the show, the fashion double act Trinny and Susannah. Before his TV career, he started life as an only child, growing up in a council house in the coalmining village of Cudworth, near Barnsley, South Yorkshire. As a teenager, his father, a miner, took him down the pit to put him off working there. When his dreams of playing cricket for Yorkshire were dashed, he left school aged 16 and began working at a local paper, later joining the Manchester Guardian and then the Daily Express. His first TV job was as a producer at Granada, and he later moved to Thames TV, before landing his chat show Parkinson at the BBC. He had a short-lived term at TV-am as part of the original presenting line-up alongside the likes of Angela Rippon and David Frost, and appeared on the shows Give Us A Clue, one-off drama Ghostwatch and Going For A Song. Sir Michael brought down the curtain on more than 30 years of his chat show at the end of 2007 with a final show featuring Beckham, Sir Michael Caine, Sir David Attenborough, Dame Judi Dench, Dame Edna Everage, Sir Billy Connolly, Peter Kay and Jamie Cullum in a two-hour special. Speaking on the final show, he said: "Over the years it has been a privilege to meet some of the most intelligent and interesting people. It has always been a great joy and I shall miss it." As well as his television career, he was a respected radio broadcaster, having hosted Desert Island Discs on BBC Radio 4 as well as his own sports shows on Five Live. He was also an award-winning sports writer, having been a lifelong cricket fan. He received an honorary doctorate in 2008, alongside cricket umpire and his good friend Dickie Bird, at the Barnsley campus of Huddersfield University. He was knighted by the late Queen at Buckingham Palace in 2008, and said of the accolade: "I never expected to be knighted - I thought there was more chance of me turning into a Martian really." In 2013, he spoke openly about being diagnosed with prostate cancer following a routine health check. He had three sons with wife Mary, who he married in 1959. Share or comment on this article: Michael Parkinson dead at 88: Legendary broadcaster and talk show host who interviewed the great and the good from John Lennon to Muhammad Ali passes away at home after brief illness e-mail Add comment Comments 222 Share what you think Newest Oldest Best rated Worst rated View all The comments below have been moderated in advance. View all The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. Add your comment Enter your comment By posting your comment you agree to our house rules . 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